Japanese Culture, Respect and Politeness

The culture of respect is one of the most important values in Japanese society. It's reflected in Japanese language, manners, and customs. Status and hierarchy are important in modern Japanese society. Most relationships in Japanese society are not equal. One person's position is higher than the others. Position is determined by place within a family and organization, as well as job, age, and experience. Japanese company workers respect their managers, students respect their teachers, families respect their elders, sporting teams respect their coaches, and Japanese people respect the emperor and the imperial family. One way for Japanese people to show respect is to bow. They also bow instead of shaking hands. Elevator attendant or elevator attendants in department stores have to bow to hundreds of customers every day. The depth of a bow varies according to who you are greeting. Japanese people give meishi. These name cards introduce people to one another. They give meishi when meeting new people, clients, or customers, instead of shaking hands. When you offer a meishi, hold the card in both hands and bow. Japanese people bow even when they are talking on the phone. Japanese people are very friendly and welcoming to foreign and local tourists. This custom is called omotenashi. It reflects the Japanese respect for other people and their humility in the way they interact with them. When you visit Japan, you'll see that people always wait very patiently in queues. Japanese people show respect for others. They never push and shove. The Japanese language has an extensive grammatical system for expressing politeness, respect, and humility, which is called keigo. One way to show respect is in the way you address people. Always say and write san after other people's names. Sometimes, males put kun after their names. There are no Japanese words for Mr., Mrs., or Ms., but using san after people's names has a similar function. To show great respect, you can use sama after the person's name instead of san. When addressing a teacher, university professor, politician, doctor, or martial arts teacher, use sensei instead of san or sama. Sensei in kanji means previous life, which implies having great wisdom. It's always important to be polite to other people in Japanese and humble about yourself. To make some expressions polite, you add gozaimasu. Polite verbs end with masu. The mastery of politeness is very important in understanding how Japanese society functions, and the core values of respect for others and humility are perhaps ones we should all aspire to practicing every day. No wonder this circuit failed. It says made in Japan. What do you mean, doc? All the best stuff is made in Japan. Unbelievable.